Lesson 10

* May 31 - June 6

Why Forgive?

Sabbath Afternoon
May 31

MEMORY TEXT: "Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye"
(Colossians 3:13).

OUR WORLD is filled with hurt
and offended people. After all, who has nothowever
inadvertentlyoffended or hurt someone, oftentimes those whom they love
the most? Even more important, who has not been hurt, or offended, even by
those whom they love the most?

It is one of the sad facts of life that it is easy to offend; it is even
easier to be offended. What's not so easy is to forgive. If only forgiveness
came as easy as offense. What a better world it would be.

This week we look at the question of forgiving others. We look at reasons
why we should forgive, especially in light of Christ having forgiven us.
Jesus told some pretty straightforward parables about the importance of forgiving
others. It has, literally, eternal consequences and is an essential part
of what it means to be a Christian.

Let's see if we can come to a better understanding of this important, if
not always easy to apply, fundamental teaching of our faith.

THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What is forgiveness? Just because Jesus forgave
us, why should we forgive others? What are the practical benefits of forgiveness?
How can we forgive those who have hurt us? What is the essential element
of unfairness in forgiveness? How can we balance personal forgiveness with
the need for legal and civil justice?

*Please study this weeks lesson to prepare
for Sabbath, June 7.

Sunday June 1

THE FORGIVENESS FACTOR.

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you"
(Eph.
4:32).

One of the most crucial and foundational
aspects of the Christian faith deals with forgiveness. Our religion is nothing
if, indeed, there is no forgiveness.

First and foremost, of course, it involves God's forgiveness of us, without
which we would be no better off than the beasts. In fact, without the promises
that come with this forgiveness, we would be worse off than the beasts, because,
unlike us, they have no concept of transcendence, of eternity, and of the
chasm between what we are and what we long for. Humans do, and thus, without
the promise of eternity that comes with forgiveness, it would be easier to
be a chicken, because, even without forgiveness, chickens do not live in
hopelessness; in contrast, humans, without divine forgiveness, do.

An unforgiving Christian is as much of an oxymoron as an atheistic Christian
or a round square. As Christians, we must forgive; our religion demands it.
Of course, that's not always easy. Sometimes we have been so thoroughly hurt,
so unfairly treated, so grossly misused and misjudged that forgiveness seems
impossible, if not outrageously unfair and unjust.

And yet, there is inherent in the concept of forgiveness a sense of unfairness
and injustice. To forgive someone something is not to hold that individual
accountable for what he or she should be held accountable for; it is not
to bear offense for what is offensive. You don't forgive someone for giving
you money, fixing your flat tire, or helping your mother cross a busy street.
You forgive them when they insult you, when they cheat you, when they hurt
you or someone you love. True forgiveness is often before restitution, prior
to amends. You forgive, whether or not the offense is, or ever could be,
rectified by the offender. This isn't fairness, this isn't justicethis
is forgiveness. If we demanded fairness and justice in every aspect of our
lives, we could never forgive or, for that matter, be forgiven.

Why does, or should, a Christian forgive? Look at the text for today.
How does it help us understand why we should forgive others? Christ forgave
us; that's fine. But why should we, then, forgive others? What does one have
to do with the other?

Monday June 2

WHY FORGIVE?

Look up the following texts regarding forgiveness. Next to each one, write
down any reason you can find from it that would help us understand why we
should forgive others:

We can find in the Bible numerous reasons
to forgive. We are commanded to; Jesus, as our example, forgave; we are even
told that if we don't forgive others, we ourselves don't deserve to be forgiven
by God.

Yet, none of this goes to the root of the question, Why forgive others? We
need to be forgiven by a God in order to be spared condemnation at the end
of the age; that's clear. But what purpose does God have in wanting us to
forgive others? What reasons exist for God's asking us to do something that
at times can be very hard?

Perhaps, by forgiving, we help ourselves; we get free from anger and rage
and hatred that can destroy our lives. By forgiving, we are manifesting the
character of God to the others; in short, we are a witness to the world of
the kind of God we serve. By forgiving, we help break the cycle of hatred,
revenge, and often violence that does so much damage to the world. In other
words, by forgiving, we help make the world a better place. Imagine what
this planet would be like if everyone learned to forgive everyone else.

Thus, besides all the spiritual aspects involved in the forgiveness of others,
there is (as is often the case) a very down-to-earth practical element, as
well.

Look at the world around us today. How much pain and suffering
can you see that has resulted directly from a lack of forgiveness? Make a
list of either international conflicts, domestic conflicts, or personal conflicts
and violence you can trace directly back to one side's unwillingness to forgive
the other.

Tuesday June 3

HOW TO FORGIVE.

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven
the inexcusable in you."

C. S.
Lewis

Of course, it's one thing to say that
we should forgive; it's another to do it. Many people have suffered terrible
indignities by those who have shown no remorse or sorrow for what they have
done. As Christians, we are to forgive, but many times that isn't easy. How
are we to learn to forgive?

There's only one answer: It's called grace. We can learn to forgive only
by understanding how we, ourselves, have been forgiven. The grace that forgave
us is the same grace that can lead us to forgive others.

God forgave us our sins, not because we were worthy, not because we deserved
it, not because of anything that we could do to earn that forgiveness. It
was purely by grace; unmerited favor that we, so unworthy, have been given
the privilege of being called the "sons of God"
(1
John 3:1).

In order to forgive us, Christ had to bear the sins of the world. God Himself,
in the person of His Son, bore in Himself the penalty for all our iniquity.
That's what it cost God to be able to forgive us so freely. It was the ultimate
in unfairness.

Plus, we must remember that no matter who does what to us, we are all of
the same sad ilk, different proportions of one lurid brew, brothers and sisters
in sin, nothing else. Thus, the distance we have to cross to forgive others
is almost nonexistent in contrast to the distance Christ, the Infinite God,
had to cross in order to forgive us.

In the end, the only way we can learn to forgive others is to fall at the
foot of the Cross and die to self. Only as self is broken can we be put back
together in a way that will allow us to forgive. Only as we learn to partake
of the grace bestowed upon us can we bestow grace on others. Only as we realize
what we have been forgiven can we begin to forgive others.

What do you say to someone who is a Christian and yet says, "I have
so much anger, so much bitterness, so much resentment against people. Please
tell me how to get rid of it"?

Wednesday June 4

FORGIVING OUR ENEMIES.

Ihe ideal of Christian forgiveness is
illustrated in one of the classics that came out of World War II. In Ernest
Gordon's amazing story, Miracle on the River Kwai, he tells how he
was captured while escaping from Sumatra, after the fall of Singapore. With
other prisoners of war, he was marched into the jungle to build the notorious
bridge on the river Kwai. Here a miracle of grace took place. The Holy Spirit
replaced hatred for their enemies with compassion, as is illustrated by this
episode:

"We were shunted on to a siding for a lengthy stay. We found ourselves on
the same track with several carloads of Japanese wounded. They were on their
own and without medical care. .

"They were in a shocking state; I have never seen men filthier. Their uniforms
were encrusted with mud, blood and excrement. Their wounds, sorely inflamed
and full of pus, crawled with maggots. .

"The wounded men looked at us forlornly as they sat with their heads resting
against the carriages waiting fatalistically for death. .

"Without a word, most of the officers in my section unbuckled their packs,
took out part of their ration and a rag or two, and, with water canteens
in their hands, went over to the Japanese train to help them. Our
guardstried to prevent us, bawling, 'No goodka! No goodka!' But we
ignored them and knelt by the side of the enemy to give them food and water,
to clean andbind up their wounds, to smile and say a kind word. Grateful
cries of 'Arigatto!' ('Thank you!') followed us when we left."Ernest
Gordon, Miracle on the River Kwai (London: Wm. Collins Sons &
Co., Ltd., 1963), pp. 162, 163.

Ernest Gordon regarded his comrades with wonder. Eighteen months ago they
would have joined readily in the destruction of their captors had they fallen
into their hands. "Now these same were dressing the enemy's wounds. We had
experienced a moment of grace, there in those blood-stained railway cars.
God had broken through the barriers of our prejudice and had given us the
will to obey His command, 'Thou shalt love.' . . .

"God, we saw, was honouring us by allowing us to share in His labours. .
. for the world He loves."Ernest Gordon, pp. 163, 164.

Thursday June 5

FORGIVENESS AND CIVIL JUSTICE.

A man commits a terrible crime against
a woman. The guilty person is caught and convicted. Before sentencing, the
court wants to hear from the victim; depending upon what she says, his sentence
can be lenient or very harsh. It's up to her.

Now, the victim is a Christian, who feels under the conviction of the Holy
Spirit that she needs to forgive the person who committed this crime against
her. And she has; through the grace of Christ working in her life, through
her understanding of what she herself has been forgiven, and what that
forgiveness cost, she has openly professed her forgiveness to the criminal.

The question is, What does she say to the court? The person has committed
a terrible crime. Does she plead for leniency? Does she ask that he be given
the lightest sentence possible? Or does she seek the greatest possible
punishment?

Look at this question from all possible angles: Perhaps, if he's given
a lighter sentence, he'll be free again soon and do the same thing to someone
else. Perhaps, if he's given a light sentence, others might be tempted by
the light sentence to commit the same crime. Maybe he really deserves the
worst possible punishment. Yet, if she forgives, shouldn't she want him to
be punished as lightly as possible, or maybe not at all? How would you respond
in a situation like this?

The text for today makes it clear that rulers have their part, which involves
punishing "evildoers." Of course, in one sense, we are all evildoers
(Rom.
3:10-18). Yet, the crucial point to remember is that we need to make
a distinction between the civil and the spiritual, between sin and crime,
which are not always the same thing.

Maybe we are to forgive all things, but that doesn't necessarily mean all
things don't come with legal consequences. They do. The difficult part for
Christians is how to make the distinction. How do we forgive and yet, at
the same time, respect the right and the need for civil law and punishment?

Read
Exodus
21:23-26. Keeping in mind the distinction between legal, civil codes,
and spiritual truth, how do you square these with the concept of
forgiveness?

Friday June 6

FURTHER STUDY: "The Saviour's manner
of dealing with Peter had a lesson for him and his brethren. Although Peter
had denied his Lord, the love which Jesus bore him had never faltered. And
as the apostle should take up the work of ministering the word to others,
he was to meet the transgressor with patience, sympathy, and forgiving love.
Remembering his own weakness and failure, he was to deal with the sheep and
lambs committed to his care as tenderly as Christ had dealt with
him."Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles,
p. 516.

"How many are today manifesting the same spirit. When the debtor pleaded
with his lord for mercy, he had no true sense of the greatness of his debt.
He did not realize his helplessness. He hoped to deliver himself. 'Have patience
with me,' he said, 'and I will pay thee all.' So there are many who hope
by their own works to merit God's favor. They do not realize their helplessness.
They do not accept the grace of God as a free gift, but are trying to build
themselves up in self-righteousness. Their own hearts are not broken and
humbled on account of sin, and they are exacting and unforgiving toward others.
Their own sins against God, compared with their brother's sins against them,
are as ten thousand talents to one hundred pencenearly one million
to one; yet they dare to be unforgiving."Ellen G. White, Christ's
Object Lessons, pp.
245-247.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1.

Read
Matthew
18:24-35. What's the point of the story? How do we reconcile this with
the concept of justification by faith alone? Does forgiving others make us
worthy of being forgiven by God?

2.

How do you understand the role of grace in forgiveness? Can you see
a parallel between forgiveness and grace? Is not forgiveness a manifestation
of grace?

3.

What do you say to someone who said that, even as a Christian, it
was impossible to forgive the person who, for instance, murdered and raped
his or her daughter?

Dream Brings a Church to the Truth

Nana Ngidi

When Nana Ngidi received permission to lead a Bible study group on the South
African campus where she taught, she was told not to advance her personal
beliefs. Nana made it a point to answer all religious questions from the
Bible.

The group studied many topics, including the Second Coming and prophecies
of Daniel and Revelation. When a student asked a question on
Daniel
7:25 regarding changing the law of God, Nana could not answer without
talking about the Sabbath. After the meeting, several students wanted to
know more about the Sabbath and how to keep it.

Nana asked for and was eventually given permission to take her Bible study
students off campus to attend Sabbath services in a nearby town. After the
visit, however, the school president reprimanded her for teaching the students
her own beliefs and undermining the school's religious teachings. She was
told to stop her Bible studies immediately and to send the Bible study students
to the president's office for questioning.

As she called each student, Nana wondered if any of them would stand up for
what they believed. To her surprise, several who had not come regularly to
the Bible study went to the president's office, as well. The students were
told that the Bible study group was disbanded and that Nana could no longer
study or pray with them. A noted theologian was invited to speak at a campus
seminar designed to "deprogram" the students regarding the Sabbath.

The theologian read verses regarding the ceremonial sabbaths of the Old Testament
and explained that these sabbaths were no longer valid. He urged the students
to forget the Sabbath "nonsense." Although Nana was not allowed to speak
at the meeting, one of her students stood and defended the Sabbath from the
Bible. The theologian and staff members realized that the students knew what
they believed. The meeting was dismissed.

Members of the Bible study group continued meeting without Nana. When they
went home on vacation, they continued practicing their faith. Parents wrote
to Nana telling of the change in their sons' and daughters' behavior.

Nana left the school, but some students keep in touch with her. One is now
a student at Bethel (Adventist) College, in South Africa, and another wrote
to encourage her to continue sharing her faith with others. And the colleague
who caused Nana the most trouble at the school is now studying the Bible
with her.